Boyce Hatton

Devon law firm Boyce Hatton migrates to a cloud-hosted telephone system to accommodate the opening of their second branch office.

Boyce Hatton Solicitors has been providing legal advice to business and individuals since 1954.

Boyce Hatton wanted to replace their on-premise telephone system with a cloud-hosted model, so we met with their IT manager to discuss their options and presented him with the Horizon solution from Gamma. As an existing client of ours, Boyce Hatton was keen to remain with us if we could accommodate their future needs, which included the addition a new site in Totnes.

Industry-leading cloud-hosted telephone system
The Horizon solution is an industry-leading cloud-hosted telephone system which can demonstrate both security and resilience. All our Horizon solutions include a session border controller or voice firewall to protect them from an unwanted internet-based intrusion. Horizon has a 99.98% uptime while it also enjoys built-in disaster recovery options with pre-set diverts to mobile numbers or home phones in the event of an outage. It is also very easy to expand with the simple addition of licences and handsets, which was perfect for Boyce Hatton’s immediate and future needs, as it saved them from having to install an additional on-premise telephone system at the Totnes site.

We deployed an ethernet in the first mile (EFM) connection for the firm’s voice traffic to support the Horizon solution. This business-class circuit was suitable for voice use but could also be used as a back-up data connection in the event of any failure on their primary connection. The benefit of using an EFM connection is that, unlike broadband, it comes with a service level agreement with guaranteed fix times of hours rather than days.

Never miss a call
In terms of features and functionality, the Horizon solution offers excellent call handling options, including an automated attendant to ensure no calls are missed, which is important to a law firm where incoming enquiries are key. It also offers a whole host of mobility options, including integration of desk phones and mobiles, so callers only have to dial one number to reach fee earners wherever they working, i.e. in the office, at home, at another branch, in court on the way to a meeting, and calls can be moved seamlessly from one device to another without having to hang up and a single voicemail box can be accessed from any device. Meanwhile, the firm’s IT manager can manage the entire solution using a web-based administration portal to monitor call traffic, add new users, move extensions, set up directories and much more. This reduces ongoing engineering costs as simple tasks can be achieved in-house.

Free calls to UK landlines and mobiles
By switching to the Horizon solution, Boyce Hatton also benefits from free calls to UK landlines and mobiles to significantly reduce on ongoing call costs, which allows the firm to accurately budget for their monthly telecoms costs.

A swcomms project manager worked with the firm’s IT manager to lead the migration from Boyce Hatton’s existing telephone system to the new one to achieve as little downtime as possible and to ensure all users felt confident to use the new solution. The firm continues to be looked after by their dedicated account manager as a single point of contact for any queries they may have.

Steve Bowden, Boyce Hatton’s IT manager, said: “With Horizon, we can communicate better and the whole phone set-up is much improved. Staff and senior management can travel around different offices, yet will always be able to stay in touch and our clients can rely on receiving an instant response. “It has given us the flexibility we need as a business to keep up with change; it also saves us time and makes us more efficient.”